Voluntary unification of Moldova's administrative-territorial units to receive financial aid.
This is provided for by a bill on voluntary unification of autonomous territorial units (ATUs), which was approved by the government at a meeting on Wednesday. Under the draft, the state will establish a voluntary unification fund for 7 years (to be formed from budgetary funds) and will apply other financial incentives to promote voluntary unification. The law will regulate the principles, criteria, conditions and procedure of voluntary association of ATUs, as well as the subsequent accession of the united ATUs to other units. It is stipulated that the voluntary accession procedure shall be initiated by a decision of the local ATUs of the first level, approved by the votes of the majority of local councilors at the proposal of the mayor or 1/3 of the elected local councilors. The proposal to initiate voluntary joining must be reasoned. The bill presents the competencies of the central and local authorities in this process, the procedures for deciding on voluntary unification, the procedure for electing local authorities in the united ATUs, etc. It is stipulated that the state provides informational, organizational, methodological and financial support for voluntary unification of ATUs. In Moldova the population of about 90% of ATUs of first level is up to 5 thousand inhabitants, while the population of 35% of ATUs is under 1.5 thousand inhabitants. This implies low tax and administrative capacity and does not allow efficient delivery of services, etc. Let us remind that the voluntary unification of ATUs is stipulated, among other things, by the draft Public Administration Reform Strategy for 2023-2030. The state budget for 2023 includes 250 million lei for provision of incentives for voluntary association of ATUs. Incentives are allocated for the development of the necessary infrastructure of the unified ATUs and for the provision of allowances to the salaries of local administration employees. The bill is to be approved by the parliament and if passed, it will take effect 3 months after its publication. // 24.05.2023 - InfoMarket.
